Month: August 2014

Mail.com

SEATTLE (AP) — The location of the three bodies was revealed by the melting snow, but getting to them was another matter. They were high on a glacier at one of the most treacherous spots on Mount Rainier, an area pummeled by falling ice and rocks.

So rangers borrowed a tool from their colleagues at Denali National Park in Alaska — a mechanical claw that’s so highly specialized it hasn’t been used in years. A helicopter equipped with the device plucked the bodies of the three climbers off Mount Rainier on Tuesday, in the same area where a party of six vanished last May.   Continue reading “Bodies of 3 climbers retrieved from Mount Rainier”

United Liberty – by Jason Pye

There is a growing movement inside Congress and states legislatures to fight back against the Common Core State Standards Initiative, and it looks like it’s beginning to bear some fruit. Over at Reason, Robby Soave reports on a new poll showing the tide turning against the the college- and career-ready standards:

The numbers come courtesy of an Education Next poll. In 2013, 65 percent of people supported Common Core. That number fell to a slim 53 percent majority this year—much of that support coming from Democrats, who remained largely unchanged in their overall opinion. Continue reading “Common Core support is crumbling: Opponents still have a long way to go, but they’re shifting the narrative”

Reuters – by NIDAL AL-MUGHRABI AND MAAYAN LUBELL

An Israeli air strike killed three senior Hamas commanders in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, a clear sign of its intention to hit the group’s armed leadership days after a ceasefire failed.

Hamas, which dominates Gaza, named the men as Mohammed Abu Shammala, Raed al-Attar and Mohammed Barhoum, the three highest-ranking casualties it has announced since Israel started its offensive six weeks ago.   Continue reading “Israeli air strike kills three Hamas commanders in Gaza”

Orlando Sentinel

A Palatka police detective who ran for Putnam County sheriff was arrested during a St. Johns County weekend prostitution sting and has resigned, authorities said.

Reno Chevelle Fells, 48, resigned from the department Sunday, said Assistant Chief James Griffith of the Palatka Police Department.

On Friday, Fells responded to an online posting that was part of the four-night Operation Summer Lovin’ that included investigators advertising sex for money, said Cmdr. Chuck Mulligan of the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office.   Continue reading “Sex sting snares Florida cop during Operation Summer Lovin’”

In a second grade class the teacher was telling the students that only humans could stutter and that animals couldn’t . A little girl raised her hand and waived it vigorously to get the teachers attention. The teacher stopped and asked the girl what she wanted. The little girl got up and said “I had a kitty that used to stutter”. The teacher knowing that story’s from children can sometimes be very cute said” well then why don’t you tell us the story”.

So the little girl started her story; well me and my kitty were playing in the back yard one day and the people next door had a mean old Rottweiler and he was barking and barking all the time. But that day the mean old dog started running real hard and he jumped over the fence into my backyard. Continue reading “Stuttering”

Fox 43 News

A South Carolina High School student says he was suspended and arrested after he turned in a school writing assignment.

Freshman Alex Stone says students were told to write a few sentences about themselves and a “status,” as if it were a Facebook page.

He says in his “status” he wrote a fictional story that involved the words “gun” and “take care of business.”   Continue reading “Student says he was arrested for killing dinosaur in class assignment”

Yahoo News – by John Clarke

(Reuters) – A Maryland State Police trooper has been put on administrative suspension after sheriff’s deputies responded to a call reporting a naked man drinking at a bar in a barbecue restaurant, authorities said on Wednesday.

The incident is the most recent in a spate involving naked people around the country.

Harford County sheriff’s deputies arrived around 11 p.m. on Saturday at the bar in Jarrettsville, 32 miles north of Baltimore, and located two men who identified themselves as state troopers. The trooper in question appeared intoxicated and denied that he had been naked, sheriff’s deputy spokeswoman Christie Kahler said.   Continue reading “Maryland trooper suspended after accused of being naked in bar”

Gun Wars – by Sarah Ferris

Voice of America

LOS ANGELES—Two teenagers who conspired to kill three members of staff and many students at a high school in a Los Angeles suburb were charged on Wednesday with one count each of making criminal threats, prosecutors said.

Rebecca Lewis, deputy district attorney at Los Angeles County, said in a statement the teens talked about carrying out a mass shooting at their high school and alleged that they shared their plans with another teen who they threatened to kill.   Continue reading “California students charged after plotting school shooting”

Reuters – by Joe Bavier

An American doctor who contracted Ebola treating victims of the deadly virus in Liberia has recovered and will be discharged on Thursday by the U.S. hospital that treated him with an experimental drug, his charity said.

Kent Brantly was given ZMapp, a drug used on a handful of patients in the West African outbreak and produced by U.S.-based Mapp Biopharmaceutical.   Continue reading “U.S. hospital to discharge doctor treated with experimental Ebola drug”

WeaponsMan

Ah, let us taste the sweet nectar of Schadenfreude.

Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. (DKS) on Tuesday reported net income that declined by 17 percent in its fiscal second quarter, and beat analysts’ expectations.

The Coraopolis, Pennsylvania-based company said profit fell to $69.5 million, or 57 cents per share, from $84.2 million, or 67 cents per share, in the same quarter a year ago. Continue reading “Don’t be a Dick’s: Anti-Gun Gun Store’s Income Sinks”

The New American – by Selwyn Duke

Does the unusual shot pattern in the Michael Brown shooting incident tell the tale of whether or not Ferguson Police officer Darren Wilson fired in self-defense? Ex-marine and video blogger Michael Wilson (no relation) certainly thinks so. And he has created a presentation explaining the significance of the pattern and why he thinks the Brown family autopsy ultimately will vindicate Officer Wilson.   Continue reading “Ex-Marine Gunner: Ferguson Shot Pattern Vindicates Officer Wilson”

NBC Los Angeles – by Jason Kandel

The California Highway Patrol officer seen in a widely distributed video punching a woman on the side of a Southern California freeway last month was relieved of duty and sent home with pay while prosecutors weigh possible criminal charges, officials said Wednesday.

Officials have stripped CHP Officer Daniel Andrew of his badge and gun, effective immediately, CHP officials said.   Continue reading “CHP Officer Who Beat Woman Faces “Potentially Serious Charges””

Nutritional Anarchy

In Native American lore, it is often said that hunters made use of the entire animal that they had killed in order to respect the sacrifice that sustained them. They considered the buffalo to be sacred, and felt it was an offense to be wasteful.  They ate anything edible; used the hides for shelters, shoes, and clothing; they strung bows with the sinews, they used the stomachs as water canteens, and they used the horns for weapons and tools.

The other day when I was preserving some peaches, my daughter pointed out that I was letting some parts go to waste. She said, “Mom, you need to use the whole buffalo!”   Continue reading “The “Whole Buffalo” Theory of Food Economics”